Parliament to approve Turkey-US deal on tax evasion

Posted On: December 9, 2015

The Cabinet has submitted a bill to the Parliament Speaker’s Office for presentation and approval by the legislature of an agreement with the US that concerns the sharing of information between the countries to prevent tax fraud.

A letter accompanying the legislation sent to the speaker’s office on Nov. 19 said the agreement contained in the “Bill on Approval for the Memorandum of Understanding on Improving International Tax Compliance between Turkey and the US Through Enhanced Exchange of Information” had been signed by the two governments in July.

The letter’s introduction stated that Turkey and the US seek to tackle tax evasion by improving the way tax authorities obtain information about individuals and entities.

It was also noted that the US’s efforts to address tax evasion began with the introduction of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in March 2010. FATCA requires banks outside the US to give Washington details of foreign accounts held by US citizens.

Maintaining that the US has been making bilateral agreements to form an international information sharing platform between countries’ tax authorities, the Cabinet letter stated that more than 100 countries, including EU members and G-20 countries, have signed agreements with the US.

The agreement with Turkey and the US envisages an annual exchange of information about the accounts of American citizens in Turkish financial institutions and vice versa.